Always Pay Your Bills(In Gold)
by AFandomLostInTheEcho
Summary: Dipper and Mabel find an unconscious teenager in the woods, and they bring him back to the shack, unsure of what else to do. They soon find that they bit off more than they could chew when the boy turns out to be Bill Cipher trapped in a human form, and he needs their help. Trouble ensues, plot forms, and I can't write summaries. Please read and enjoy.
1. The Egocentric Triangle Returns

**Hi guys! Before I start this, I just want to say that I am still writing my other fanfictions, but inspiration issues have forced me to write this instead. This may contain eventual BillDip, but I'm not sure if it's gonna be full-on romantic or not. I doubt it, but we shall see. I really, really really really really really really love Bill, so please enjoy some human Bill as well as demonic Bill(somewhere in the future) and stuff. Bill is also a really tuff character to write, so please tell me if he does something too OOC, and as always, leave suggestions, fav, comment, or follow if you wish. Enjoyyyyy. **

**Warnings: This fanfiction contains swears, possible(I'm not positive if this should happen or not) sexual content, Bill being an asshole, and mentions and examples of child abuse, including a possible flashback to it happening. I do not own the characters or the show, sadly. If I did, we'd be seeing much more Bill then we have been**

Mmmmmnn..." Bill groaned, slowly regaining consciousness.

Out of it, the demon opened what he assumed was his eye and his vision was met with a ceiling. He stared, motionless, at the ceiling, like he was waiting for something. _Wait_, Bill thought to himself. _I recognize that ceiling. I'm in the shack. What the fuck am I doing in the shack?_

_ And why do I feel so weird?_

Bill sat up, then realized that a) he was sitting up, not floating, and b) he was in the twins' room. And his head hurt. Oh God, he had a head. A very sore, aching head. He instinctively brought his hands up to his 'head,' before instantly removing them and standing up on the bed, staring at himself, realizing instantly what kind of a body he was in, and whose.

"What the FUCK?" Bill exclaimed loudly, shock and panic clear in his voice. He was human. He was fucking HUMAN. Not just human, but HIM human. He was in his old human body from God knows how long ago, back when he still WAS human. He just knew it. He wasn't even in a vessel.

Frantically, Bill snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. Fuck. His powers were gone too. _This cannot be happening._

Bill heard a door opening from somewhere below his feet, followed by footfalls and a small "ooh!"

He lifted his head towards the noise only to find Dipper, Stan and Mabel Pines all staring at him. Stan looked stoic yet cautious, Mabel had her hands over her mouth, and Dipper looked shocked to see the demon so panicked.

"Hey, calm down!" Dipper yelled, and he and Mabel ran over to the demon. Bill was about to jump off of the bed to slam the twins into the wall and say something cool or something, but he felt faint, and when he tried to get off the bed, he felt himself fall rather than jump. Dipper and Mabel caught him, and Stan ran over from his spot at the doorframe to help the demon sit back down on the bed.

"Hey, kid, what's your name?" Stan asked Bill, and the demon's eyebrows pinched together in confusion before he reminded himself that he was in a human body that the Pines family had never seen before. Bill, a hand on his head as his brain throbbed, glared daggers at the old man. "What do _you_ think my name is?" He questioned, the echo that would normally be in his voice gone. His voice was still his though, despite it sounding more human than demonic.

He was curious as to if the Pines family knew he was a demon and not just some 15-year-old teenager with messy, dirty blond hair, drastically out of style wool clothes and light, tanned skin.

The old man looked down at his grand kids, lost for words. "He's all yours," he told the twins before standing back and far away from the twins and the teenager on Dipper's bed.

The twins looked at each other, having a silent conversation before Dipper took a small step back, leaving the figurative spotlight on Mabel. The girl, who was wearing a fluffy pink sweater that was soaked in somehow sticking stickers, smiled at Bill. "Hi! I'm Mabel Pines, and your in the Mystery Shack, a tourist attraction site that my Grunkle uses to scam money out of poor innocent people. Do you remember why you were out in the forest?" She asked sweetly, her voice low as to not upset Bill. Like she was talking to a small child. Bill scoffed quietly to himself, but it was obvious the other heard him.

_ The forest?_ Bill thought to himself, confused. _I was in the forest?_

Then he remembered. He was summoned. He didn't know who by, seeing as though he didn't see anyone, but he did know that as soon as he arrived, he had landed in a devils trap specifically made for him. Inside of the trap, he heard chanting, and then he felt pure agony; something no demon should ever feel. Then he felt nothing. Then he woke up at the shack.

"No..." Bill lied, but he forgot that humans could normally tell when other humans were lying. Dipper and Stan both narrowed their eyes, and even Mabel gave him a weird look, but it left her face within a moment. "Well, what's your name? How old are you? Are you new to Gravity Falls? I've never seen you around here before."

Bill stared at the girl before debating telling the Pines that he was Bill. On one hand, if he told them, they would almost certainly kick him out, if Stan didn't do something worse first. On the other hand, they could help him become a demon again, so long as Bill could come up with a good reason as to why they should help him.

_ Help me,_ Bill thought with an inner scoff. I shouldn't need help, especially theirs. But...

I do.

"Alright, look, I'm gonna be straight with you here; I'm a demon. We've met. I'm trapped in my old human form, and I need your help," Bill told them, and he had to stop himself from flinching when he saw Stanford's eyes light up with fire and his fists clench. "Mabel, get away from him!" The old man yelled, and Mabel yelped at the anger in his voice, scurrying over to her brother, who had taken a few extra steps back, seemingly speed-thinking as though brainstorming the demons they had met.

"Bill?" Dipper asked cautiously, hints of fear, shock and anger laced in his voice, which made Bill smile.

"The one and only." The demon chided. Stan practically growled at him. "Get out of my house," he snarled, and Bill frowned. "What, you're not even gonna hear me out?" The demon asked in a pouty voice.

"No," Stan snarled. "What do you want with us?"

"I thought you weren't gonna hear me out."

"_Just speak_."

"Hey, don't go ordering around a demon, old timer. I don't like this any more than you do, but someone stuck me in my old meat sack, thus forth I don't have my powers anymore. My point being what harm can a demon stuck in the body of a 15-year-old do to you?" He tried to reason, but then he felt the world start to swim and he let a groan escape his lips as he once again rubbed his forehead. Stan re-narrowed his eyes, and the twins stared at him curiously.

"So what _do_ you want with us?" He re-asked, staring at the demon accusingly.

"I..." He stared, but his head was pounding worse than before, and he was pretty sure it showed on his face, so he tried to remain stoic. "Could use a place to stay while I try to figure out how to undue this, since humans need to sleep and eat and stuff, right?"

The three figures ahead of him stared at him, their mouths slightly agape at the idea. "No," Stan deadpanned.

"I'll be civil."

"_No."_

"Grunkle Stan!" Mabel and Dipper exclaimed, looking at their Grunkle with shock in their expression. "What?" Stan asked, taken slightly aback by their looks.

"Can we talk outside?" Dipper asked, and without waiting for a response, the twins shoved their Grunkle out the bedroom door and they all stopped a little further down into the hallway.

"Grunkle Stan, he's only a kid! And an injured one at that!" Mabel exclaimed, shaking her Grunkle's arm. "Plus, he's powerless right now! Can't he just stay here for a little while to-"

"No. Look, kid, the guys a demon, no matter what form he takes. He possessed Dipper and he invaded my mind. Call me crazy, but I don't trust the guy. At all," Stan told her before turning to Dipper. "What about you, are you with her or me on this?" He asked the boy, who looked distraught.

"I don't know, Grunkle Stan. I get what you're saying. I don't trust him either, but... he needs help."

"Dipper, let's say we do help him. He stays here, he figures out who turned him human. He somehow undoes whatever happened to him, and boom, he's a self-absorbed nightmare dorito again. Chances are he gets his powers back, and he uses them against us. Again. Do you really want that to happen?" Stan reasoned, and Dipper looked down, giving out a small and half-hearted 'no.'

Mabel didn't look ready to give up, though, and was about to say something when they heard a loud _thump_ come from the twins' room. They glanced at each other again before running back into the room to find Bill passed out on the floor, a pained expression on his face.

Stan sighed and walked over to the demon, lifting him up and putting him back on the bed. He didn't pull the blankets over the demon or anything, just dropped him onto the bed and stared back at the twins, who were staring at him exceptionally.

"He's gonna die if we don't help him. I don't think he remembers how to be a human. I mean, he did say this was his old body, right? And when he possessed Dipper, I think he completely forgot about anything humans need," Mabel said before looking lost in thought, and Stan sighed. "We'll worry about that detail later." Dipper looked up, shocked. "You mean he can stay?" Dipper asked, worried. He wasn't sure if it was good idea for the demon to stay with them, but it was obvious that Bill needed their help. Stan rubbed his forehead the way he always does when he is about to make a decision that he knows will most likely backfire later.

"Three days. Then he's out. I'm taking him to the spare room and I'm tying him down. Got it?" Stan finalized, pointing his finger at the twins, who nodded. He then proceeded to grab Bill again, and the kid was heavy, but Stan wasn't going to let that show. He draped the demon over his shoulder like a rag doll and brought him to the spare room in the basement where the twins had found the body-switching rug and plopped the kid down on the couch.

Then, after tying Bill down and restraining him to the couch with some rope, Stan grabbed the emergency locks out from a box in his room and placed a lock on both his and the twins' door. After all, better safe than sorry.

-/o\\-

Bill was getting _real_ sick and tired of waking up in strange places that he knew he didn't belong in.

Now he really didn't know where he was. It felt rather roomy, and he looked around, he saw that the room was snug and spacey as well. He realized that he couldn't move anything but his head and feet. _Crap, what now?_

He looked down to see his whole body laying and strapped down to a couch. _Stan's idea_, Bill guessed.

He let out a low groan and let his head fall back into the couch. Wait, this is a soft couch. It felt different from the rest of his body than where his head was. Was he using a pillow? Ya. Ya, he had a pillow under his head. Probably one of the twins' touch. Ugh, the twins. Ugh, human bodies. Ugh, everything.

I am a demon. I do not deserve this shit.

"PIIIIIIIIIIINES," Bill called, his voice surprisingly crackly. He laid, waiting impatiently, mentally thinking of different ways to flay the pines' when he gets his demonic form back. Not that he would, but still. A time may and probably will come when he has to.

Bill heard a door opening and he sighed. "About time. I was wondering how long it would take before I could get some service around here. Now, which one of you is out there, I can't see the door like this thanks to your sloppy placement of my tied-down meat sack, no thanks to you," he rambled, not really caring about how long he was speaking for. His face was facing away from the door, though, and he genuinely did not know who had entered the room. He smirked when he heard Dippers annoyed voice.

"I don't trust you."

Bill rolled his eyes. "Thank you Captain Obvious."

Dipper narrowed his eyes and walked back out the door to retrieve Grunkle Stan and Mabel. He returned a moment later with them and they all cautiously walked into the demon's viewpoint. Bill smirked evilly at them.

"Hello, Shooting Star. Hiya, Big Fish; Pine Tree," Bill greeted them with his annoying nicknames that most of the Pines' had forgotten he had used until now.

"Tell me, why am I tied up? It almost like you don't trust me," he mocked, glaring at Dipper.

The boy opened his mouth to say something when Stan beat him to it. "You're tied up as a precaution. Now, you are going to answer our questions honestly, and we will debate after hearing you out if we are going to help you or not," he explained to the demon, who looked thoughtful.

"Okay. I can't promise I will answer honestly though, hows about we make a deal to insure I do?" He proposed, smirking. He could practically hear Stan growling.

"No deals. If you want help, you have to answer honestly, or else you're on your own. Capiche?" He snarled, and Bill rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Shoot."

Mabel stepped forward a small amount and cleared her throat. "Okay, Bill. Why are you human?" She asked sweetly. "Did someone turn you human? Are you human as punishment for something you did? Did you turn _yourself_ human?"

Bill though for a moment, trying to properly recall the events. "Uh, the first one, I think."

Dipper narrowed his eyes. "How?"

Bill frowned. He hated interrogations, but he also knew that the more people on his side, the better. Plus, he could easily kill them when he got his powers back if he was in reach of them. But did he really want to kill them? No, not really. The pines were to fun to kill. But.. If they trusted him, he could definitely have some fun.

"I was summoned into a trap and then I heard some kind of chanting. Then everything hurt and then I woke up here. Well, not here, in Dipper's bed," the demon explained truthfully. He hated being truthful. There was no fun in it.

"And you're telling the truth?" Stan asked cautiously, his eyes narrowed. Bill nodded. "I know. Weird, right? Who would have thought."

Dipper didn't know if Bill was referring to him telling the truth or him being turned human, but he rolled his eyes anyhow. "Okay, so do you know why anybody would _want_ to turn you human?"

Bill thought again for a moment. "Well, I don't have my powers anymore, so either they did it to get my powers or to prevent me from using my powers," he told them.

"Okay, I guess that makes sense," Dipper reluctantly admitted, and then Mabel made an _ooh_ sound.

"I've got a question! Okay, so, were you a human before you were a demon? You said this was your old body. Did you grow up a human?" She asked eagerly, and Bill froze at the question. He had forgotten he had said that. Fuck, why did he say that?

"Um... Well, that is a personal question that is irrelevant to the certain circumstances I have been placed under, so mind your own fucking business," he snapped, turning his head away from the humans and staring at the wall.

Quiet surrounded the room. It was Dipper who first spoke again.

"Why do you need our help?" The boy asked, and Bill looked back at him again.

"Honestly? Because I suck at being human, and the more people on my side, the better," he explained, mentally cringing at how honest he was being.

"What makes you think we're on your side?" Stan questioned. Bill frowned again.

"'Cause I'm irresistible," Bill smirked, wiggling his eyebrows. Dipper and Stan rolled their eyes, but Mabel giggled slightly, causing the three boys to stare at her.

"What?" Mabel defended, "he looks funny when he does that with his eyebrows."

Stan sighed. "Give us one reason why we should help you," he demanded.

"Well, other than the fact that you'll be deprived of my seriously good looks, I know things," Bill told them, now staring at Dipper. "I can tell you things. If you let me stay _and_ help me reverse this, you can ask me one question a day."

The Pines' did not look convinced. "Why do you think we would want to know anything?" Stan asked, but Dipper's eyes were sparkling.

"Grunkle Stan, this could be how I find out who wrote the journal! I can finally find out all of the secrets to Gravity Falls!" Dipper exclaimed.

"Actually... No, I can't tell you who wrote the journal, but I can certainly tell you other things," Bill admitted from the couch.

"What do you mean? Why not?" Dipper barked, looking extremely disappointed. Bill sighed.

"I'm under the solidarity of a deal. I made it with the author. I don't tell anybody anything about the author and not to interfere with any of the author's plans or tool or whatever, and I get to watch it all happen from a front row seat." Bill explained, purposely leaving out the biggest part of his side of the deal. They didn't need to know that.

"Oh," said Dipper. "Well... Is there anything else you can do for us then?" He asked.

Bill nodded. "I'm in a human body. I can do human things. Do what you will with that information."

Stan scoffed. "Ya, like _that's_ gonna be enough to win us over." Bill sighed. He was getting nowhere with this. He may as well just help himself.

"Fine, you know what? I don't need your help. Let me out and I'll deal with this myself," Bill snapped, annoyed.

Stan sighed. "Thank God." Dipper and Mabel gaped at their Grunkle.

"Grunkle!" They cried in cinq. "Just let him stay!" Mabel begged, and Dipper nodded. Stan groaned, exasperated.

"Alright, you know what?" Stan growled. He turned to face the twins. "Bill is a_ demon._ He has probably killed people. He has possessed Dipper, and he has been in my mind. Not to mention he has worked with Gideon. And you think that if he stays it will all be _fine_? No. It won't."

Mabel and Dipper looked down. "But..."

"No buts. He's not staying," Stan told them. He looked back to Bill. "You are leaving," he told the demon, who frowned.

"Fine by me, but if you wanted me to leave, why not just kick me out in the first place?" Bill asked, a snarl in his voice. The demon was obviously angry.

"I thought that if I heard you out, things might be different, but that didn't happen, so you're out," Stan said, crossing his arms. "Now, I don't trust you, so I'm going to have to knock you out before I can carry you out of here."

Bill looked appalled at the idea. "What! You're not serious, are you? Just untie me and let me out!" He exclaimed, and Stan laughed.

"No, I'm kidding. The shop's open, I'm not carrying some unconscious child out the front door. That might look a bit... affronting," Stan smirked

Bill scoffed. "It would suit you, though. Really boost your image, y'know?" He mocked, and Stan stopped smirking, instead curling his fists into a ball.

Mabel sensed the anger rolling off of the two of them, so she laughed awkwardly and stepped in between them. "Okaaaay, boys, I have a proposal. Hows abouts we

Correspond to both of your wishes?" She asked, and Stan and Bill stopped glaring at each other and stared at her.

"What do you mean?" Dipper asked for them, speaking up. Mabel rolled her eyes at her brother.

"Well, maybe Bill can stay here for a week and we'll help him become a demon again, and if it works. In return, Bill can work in the Shack and help out around here. Okay?" She proposed, and the boys were silent. Eventually Dipper nodded.

"Makes sense," he admitted, arms crossed.

Stan frowned, but slowly nodded. "Fine. But he's staying in your room," he said, staring at the twins, "and he _has_ to be nice. No demonic activities. He is in a human body, so he better be human. Then, and _only_ then, will we help him."

Bill fought against growling out how he didn't need help. Instead, he pouted and nodded his head lightly. "Can we shake on it?" He asked, and when none of the Pines' looked amused or ready to comply, he sighed. "Fine."

Mabel smiled brightly and gave a little bounce. "Great! I'll go clear out a space on the floor in our room and bring out the blow-up mattress and pump. Brother!" She called, despite the fact that Dipper was right in front of her. "Follow me!" And, with that, she sped off and out of the room, one arm in front of her like Superman. Dipper sighed. "Don't bite each others heads off, okay? _Okay_ Grunkle Stan?"

Stan waved his hand in dismissal. "Ya, ya. I'll untie him and meet you guys upstairs in a bit." Dipper looked hesitant to leave, and he looked the demon and his Grunkle over quickly, regarding them, before following his sister out the door.

"Not a word," Stan ordered as he reached into his inside pocket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs, to which Bill stared at in awe.

"Why do you have handcuffs in your pockets?" He asked, slightly shocked, though he really didn't know why. It was Stan, after all. The man glowered at the boy and he started to untie him.

"I said not a word," he snarled, finishing untying him and letting the demon stretch his arms before handcuffing his hands behind his back.

"Come on Big Fish, is this _really_ necessary?" Bill asked.

"Yes," Stan deadpanned. Bill rolled his eyes but said nothing more as they walked out the door and headed up the stairs until the reached the main floor, then to going up another flight of stairs to the twins' room. Stan didn't miss how Bill leaned a bit or sometimes stumbled when he walked, obviously not used to his human form.

While Stan was untying Bill, the twins' were blowing up a mattress for the demon in their room, talking quietly amongst themselves.

"So why do you want him to stay here so bad?" Dipper asked his twin as he held the mattress out as Mabel pushed on the pump. Mabel shrugged, but she stopped pumping a looked down for a moment before she continued.

"I don't know. He just seemed so..." She searched for the right word, "I don't know, confused, maybe? You know, like when you're really homesick."

Dipper nodded, knowing what she meant. He looked kind of lost, like he felt like he was gonna regret everything that he was saying or something. "Maybe he just misses his triangle body and powers? Or, you know, the mindscape or something," he pondered, and Mabel looked thoughtful.

"I don't know. It's just that he really looked like he could have used some help, even if he tried to make up for it by insulting Stan. He's a demon, that's what he does, but still... He..." She trailed off, pushing down on the air-pump harder. Dipper narrowed his eyes, shifting the mattress.

"What?" He asked, and Mabel sighed.

"Look, I know he's a demon and all, but wouldn't it be so cool to like, learn about him? Like, how he became a demon and stuff. Besides, I think he could use a friend, even if he- or you- don't know it yet," she admitted, and Dipper gaped at her. He opened his mouth to say something when the door to their room opened up and Bill and Stan entered.

"Hey, kids, how's the mattress coming?" Stan asked, him and Bill walking further into the room. Mabel openly smiled at them, but Dipper just sent them a quick flash of a smile before he looked back towards the mattress. He wanted to know what Mabel meant by what she said. Did she even mean anything?

Suddenly Mabel released the pump and crossed her arms over her chest. "Grunkle Stan, why is Bill in handcuffs? Why do you even _have_ handcuffs?" She demanded.

"It's a precaution!" Stan defended, causing Bill to simply roll his eyes.

"Says the man who let's his niece play with a pocket knife," Bill snarked under his breath, causing Stan to send him a death glare.

"It's for protection and how did you even know about that?" He demanded, and Bill smirked evilly.

"I'm always watching," he stated, lifting his chin proudly. Stan narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

"Hey Stan, can we talk to Bill alone now?" Mabel asked, eager to learn more about the demon. She knew that Dipper was also eager to learn about their new, demonic roommate, he just didn't want to speak out with their Grunkle around. She also knew that Dipper probably wanted to know about Bill more than she did.

"Fine, but keep and eye on him Dipper, and no undoing his cuffs. And if he tries _anything_, tell me, okay? And Mabel, you have permission to beat him up if necessary," Grunkle Stan told them before hesitantly leaving the room. Mabel waited for him to go all the way down the stairs (she could tell when their Grunkle was doing a fake-out) before turning to Bill.

"Hi!" She greeted the demon like it was the first time she was seeing him. Not like he was the demon who ruined her play and possessed her brother, worked with Gideon, and invaded their Grunkle's mind.

Bill glared at her but did not reply. Instead, he made his way over to Dipper's bed, the one he was lying on when he first came to in the shack, and plopped down sloppily onto it like it was his own. Dipper said nothing, just watched the demon carefully.

Mabel cleared her throat at the demons silence, hoping to grab his attention, but to no avail. The demon laid back on Dipper's bed. Mabel held back a sigh. She really wanted Bill to cooperate, but she also knew that he was a demon, and that's the one thing they didn't do.

"Bill," she said, and he tilted his head up from the bed to look at the twins.

"Ech, you're loud. What?" He asked, his tone of voice annoyed and slightly venomous, causing Dipper to tense. Mabel knew he was about to say something that might start a fight, so she spoke first.

"Are you planning on killing us?" She asked randomly, saying the first question that popped into her head that wasn't too personal.

Bill laughed, a creepy, eerie laugh, before saying, "Shooting Star, if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead."

"Even in a human form?" Dipper asked, and Bill thought for a moment for fore replying with a nod.

"Yep! Might take some time, though. And some weapons. These bodies are pretty useless compared to mine, so it would probably take some planning too, but you bet your ass I'd make it work," Bill said, rambling.

Dipper narrowed his eyes and shared a look with Mabel. "Are you planning on it?" He asked, cautious, and Bill shook his head.

"Na. Kinda need you meat-sacks alive right now. The sooner I get my powers back, the sooner I can return to the Dreamscape."

**Okay! There's that. If i forgot to italic some spots sorry Im in school right now, and if i left some 222s, just pretend you didn't see it. I'll be baaaaaack. **


	2. Forgotten Scars like a Thousand Stars

**Hey guys I suck at writing per usual here's a new crappy chapter the next one will take a bit to come out as usual please try to ignore the OOC and enjoy this please review if you can I love you all and I'm so so sorry that I suck so much here ya go. This chapter, along with future ones, will be shorter than the first one by a lot. Sorry. Anything that doesn't make sense will be explained later. Mainly the Stan stuff. Okay ya enjoy and I'm sorry for sucking yet again. I do not own these characters. Sorry for any errors and for the shortness. pleeeease review or fav or follow or anything. I don't own Gravity Falls, sadly. **

"That triangle is going to ruin everything!" Stanford growled to himself, pressing a few more buttons before stopping when his computer beeped. He glared at the screen, analyzing every word it generated and memorizing every symbol it strew before his eyes.

"Oh," he breathed, piecing the information in front of him together and looking back to the computer keys, reaching over to them and typing in something else, his eyes moving back and forth between the computer screen and the large keyboard underneath his fingers.

He saw that the screen had changed with his typing, so he typed in the next thing that was on his mind. The computer beeped rapidly in response and a green _compatible_ sign popped up. Stan stared at it in shock. "I don't believe it," he said to himself, running a hand through his fez-less hair.

He typed in an alternative sentence, and a new compatible sign overlapped the first one.

"That may work," he mumbled, "I just hope I don't _need_ it to work."

He looked up at the ginormous and inactive, upside-down triangular machine. It was almost ready. He was so close to making the machine do its job. It just... It wasn't ready. He wasn't sure what he was missing. He was certain that he would figure it out, but how long would that take? Using an alternative power to the one on the screen may cause all sorts of problems. But for all he knew, any other source he could have found would be worse. Right now, he has something that he can use basically right under his nose that won't result in any immediate threats. Hell, it wouldn't even cause any gravity shifts.

Better yet, the twins wouldn't even know, if he was correct. God, he hoped he was correct. There was a good chance they would hate him if they knew what he was going to do, so he had to be careful.

He sighed as he minimized the _compatible_ screens and revealed what his machine was compatible too. He stared at the Eye of Providence on the screen, bearing a top hat and a bow tie. "Whadoyaknow." He said, hand on his hips and a gleeful smirk on his face, "You may just come in handy after all."

-/o\\-

The mattress was now fully blown up, and Dipper and Mabel sat on its uncomfortable inflation while Bill sat, still, on Dippers bed. The demon did not wish to sit on the mattress until absolutely necessary, so despite Dipper and Mabel's ineffective efforts, the demon sat still. Not like they put up much of a fight over it though. The argument was quick, and neither Dipper nor Mabel wished to push the demon.

"Hey, Bill," Dipper started, staring at the demon, who sighed when his name was spoked, "what do you do for fun in the dreamscape?"

Bill regarded the boy, his eyes narrowed. "Fun?" He repeated, his tone low, the word not a question. He chuckled quietly under his breath. "Are you serious?"

Dipper nodded, watching the demon with interest. "Well, ya. What-"

"KIDS!" Grunkle Stan called from downstairs, interrupting Dipper, and the twins and Bill all stared at the door. "COME DOWN TO THE SHOP! BRING THE DORITO WITH YOU!"

Dipper and Mabel giggled and stood up, but Bill remained on the bed. "Dorito?" He repeated, not caring about how repetitive he was being. Dipper and Mabel full out laughed, and Bill got up from the bed, offended. "Who's he calling a Dorito?"

The two looked at each other before looking back at Bill. "Bill, you gave us nicknames. Can't he give you one?" He asked, trying to come off as innocent, though he still had some laughter bubbling in his chest, causing his voice to sound funny.

Bill gaped out them, knowing he couldn't say much without breaking his deal. "What, like Pine Tree and Shooting Star? Those aren't nicknames, their..." He searched for a non-revealing word, "statuses, if you must."

Mabel's eyebrows scrunched together. "Whadoyoumean?" She asked. Bill tried to wave a hand as to wave off the conversation, but forgot his hands were cuffed, causing a tingling noise to come from his wrists. He attempted to look at them, but gave up quickly, so instead he just stared at the twins.

"Are you ever gonna take this off of me, or am I going to need to come up with an escape plan myself?" He asked sarcastically. Dipper opened his mouth to say something when a loud "KIDS!" Came from downstairs again. Dipper sighed at how often he was being interrupted.

"We should go," Mabel said reaching for the doorknob and opening the door, revealing the wooden hallway. "Come on, Bill."

Bill scoffed but followed the twins out the door, muttering an annoyed, "Dorito," under his breath.

They headed down the stairs and into the shop part of the shack. Grunkle Stan was leaning against the countertop impatiently, waiting for them, and he stood tall when he saw his niece, nephew, and worst enemy walk up to him.

"Who you calling Dorito?" Said worst enemy demanded, and Stan narrowed his eyes at the demon.

"You. Now, if you want to stay here and you want us to help you become Dorito shaped again, you've gotta work in the shack. Dipper, Mabel, you're in charge of training him. If this goes well, you can see our books and we'll help you figure this out, okay?" Stan instructed, and Bill glared daggers at the old man.

"Depends. Wanna shake on it? If so, we got a deal," Bill proposed, and Stan laughed a not-very-nice laugh that was short-lived.

"What, do you think I'm a idiot? It's either get working or get out, no deals," he deadpanned, and the demon narrowed his eyes at him.

"You've been an idiot before," Bill reasoned, his tone stone. Stan glared back at Bill.

"Make a choice here, Bill." Stan snarled, and Mabel and Dipper stared at each other, lost. They weren't even sure what context was occurring between their Grunkle and Bill. They seemed lost in their own world with the way they stared angrily at each other.

Bill broke Stan's gaze and stared at the twins, his eyes still holding the fire that was meant for Stan. "Show me what to do," he told the twins, his voice still stony, and then he looked back at Stan. Then he winked at Stan, which surprised the twins, and caused Stan to curl his hands into fists. Bill laughed.

Stan turned away from Bill and the twins and stalked off, leaving the shop and heading to the living room.

Bill smirked as he watched the man leave, then turned his head back to the twins, who were staring at him with their mouths slightly agape.

"Okay, so can you un-cuff me, or am I to stock this useless junk with my mouth?" Bill asked, still smirking as he stared at the twins.

"What in the world was that about?" Mabel asked, looking out of it. Bill's eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"Well, you see, the handcuffs prevent me from using my hands-"

"Not that, what just happened," Mabel said, and Dipper nodded. Bill shrugged.

"Old mans got issues. Not my problem. Now Un-cuff me and show me how to do this. And stop asking questions, it's stupid enough that I even have to _do_ this."

-/o\\-

It didn't take long for Bill to figure out the shelving retinue. He claimed that when he watched the Pines family from his dimension, he witnessed the chore a few times, so he wasn't in the dark on where things went and such. Dipper narrowed his eyes at that.

"Dimension? You're from another dimension?" He asked, and Bill shrugged.

"Yes and no. I'm from another dimension, but as a demon, I exist in a state of quantum uncertainty," Bill told him. The kids curiosity was fun, and as much as Bill hated to admit it, he liked having people ask about his life. It made him feel powerful knowing that nobody truly knew who he was or what he was like besides the whole 'demon' thing. Even if he did answer some of the question about himself, nobody really knew what had previously happened to him or what he had been through.

Dipper regarded the demon, who was taking some shirts out of a shipping box and hanging them up on a shelf with his now-free hands. The demon was slightly taller than Dipper, since he was in the body of a boy who was 15, but Dipper was 13 now, so not much of an age gap there. He and Mabel had a birthday about a week back, and they still had a lot of summer left to grow.

Then Dipper thought of something. "Hey, Bill, have you seen what you look like yet?" He asked, curious. Bill finished hooking a shirt and swiped his hands together, staring at Dipper for a moment before going to grab the last shirt of that kind.

"Nope, and I'm going to keep it that way," the demon said, his voice cheery but final.

Dipper stared at the demon in confusion. Why didn't he want to know what his human body looked like?

Mabel walked back into the room, holding another box of shirts in her hand.

"Hey, Bill, you should try one of these on! That wool doesn't look that comfy _or_ cool," Mabel suggested, referring to Bill's out of style wool sweater and cheap looking brown pants without pockets. Bill sighed. "Ya, I know. This style just doesn't work nowadays... I miss my top hat and bow tie. Do you know what I had to do to get that top hat?" Bill asked, hands on his hips, and the twins shared looks and shrugged. Bill waved a hand to dismiss his question and grabbed the shirt that Mabel was handing to him, which was purple with a black panther on it.

Bill made a face at it and looked at Dipper. "Are you guys forgetting I'm a demon? Because sometimes I can tell," he said, his tone brisk, but he pulled his sweater over his head and tossed it on the floor anyhow. He then took his baggy undershirt off and went to go pull the more modern panther shirt on when he saw the twins staring intently at his body.

"What?" Bill asked. Mabel and Dippers eyes were wide, but they seemed to catch themselves, and they shook themselves out of it.

"Nothing," Dipper said quickly, and Bill narrowed his eyes but started to pull his shirt on nonetheless. As he pulled his shirt down, he noticed what the twins were staring at. He was a little too skinny, and his ribs were faintly showing through his skin. He had scars on him too, but he remembered how most of them were on his back. How he remembered after all these years, he didn't know. He had one scar on his chest that was in the shape of a sigil, and Bill winced as he remembered carving into his own skin. He didn't realize that all those scars would still be there, the same way his body was before he left it, but then he realized that it was stupid to think that they wouldn't be there. He didn't have any bruises, though. Those seemed to have healed, for whatever reason.

The memories were the precise reason he didn't want to see himself, and he wished he hadn't looked down as he finished pulling his shirt over him and smoothed it down over his skin. "Then stop staring," He said, recovering quickly and leaning on the wall. The shirt look a bit odd on him, but he had to admit that it was way more comfortable then what he wore before, and it fit despite being a bit big. "Can I get some pants to go with this?" He asked, and Mabel nodded half heartedly.

"Sure," she said, then grabbed some pants from another wall and handed them to Bill. Bill smiled and took them, then started to pull down his own pants.

"Wait wait no Bill no no!" Mabel and Dipper cried. Bill froze and pulled them back up.

"Yeesh, what? Man, you guys are loud, have I mentioned?"

"Wait for us to leave!" Dipper said, then grabbed his sisters hand and pulled her away from Bill and out of the shop.

"What, does my body make you uncomfortable, Pine Tree?" He laughed, and Dipper shivered.


	3. Books Are For The Lower Classes

**Hey guys! So, I'm like, super sorry that this took so long. Lotta family problems, ADHD and stress going on in my life. However, I have been doing better, and I want to get back into writing so here you go. Sort of a filler chapter, I know, but here you go anyways. It's short too, so sorry about that. Most chapters will be short. Somebody corrected me once when I called Stanley Glasses when he should be Fish or Big Fish or something that isn't Glasses. I fixed that here, but idk if it is any better. Please leave a review, follow, or fav. You don't know how much they mean to me. Bye guys! Also, I like just re read my old chapters and I'm so sorry about all the spelling errors and general shittyness. It's hard to edit my work on an iPad ;.; thanks for sticking with me though!**

**EDIT: AAHHHHHH okay so the last mabelcorn just came out and Bill called Ford Sixer so I'm going to pretend that's his nickname until corrected, not Glasses. I don't know Bill calls him his real name a lot too and I'm confused he needs to make up his mind. I'm also just gonna call Stan Big Fish. I DONT KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DOOOOO **

After Bill and the twins had finished stocking the shack back up, Wendy arrived and took over the cashier, leaving the twins free to help Bill with his part of the arrangement.

Dipper and Mabel brought out some of their Grunkle's books and Dipper grabbed his journal, and together the three of them looked through the books for any kind of clue as to how Bill was turned into a human.

Bill kept trying to grab the journal, though, and Dipper kept refusing to let him hold it, instead holding it out to the demon and waiting for the demon to tell him when he finished reading so that Dipper could flip the page.

They looked for about three hours before Bill looked as though he was going to blow his brains out.

"_I can't take it anymore!_" Bill cried out, his free hands sprawled out at his sides as he lied on his back, staring at the ceiling. "I need my body back! I can't stand this meatsack!"

Dipper looked at him quizzically, closing the book in his hands and putting it off the the side. "I thought you loved inhabiting human bodies."

Bill rolled over and sat on his buttocks, his legs spread out and his hands in between them like a cat. "Ya, _inhabiting._ being and inhabiting is very different. I'm possessing nothing right now, since this body isn't a vessel, it-it's _me_. And I _hate _it, the stupid thing," Bill hissed.

Mabel sighed. "Well, what about pain? I thought you told Dipper that-"

"Yes, pain is still nice and well. Actually, do you have anything sharp I can use right now?" Bill asked, as though there was no harm in asking.

Dipper and Mabel both scoffed. "No, Bill, and don't count on it."

"KIDS! TRIANGLE GUY! YOU SHOULD SEE THIS," A voice called from downstairs, a voice that wasn't Grunkle Stan's, but was Soos'.

Mabel and Dipper shared looks before standing up, and they waited for Bill to follow suit, which he did, slowly. They walked down the stairs to find Soos and Stan watching the tv with great interest, Soos looking concerned and Stan looking annoyed and angry, and they soon saw why.

Bill laughed his demonic, creepy laugh. "Hey, it's the chick who summoned me!" He cried out, staring at the frozen image of Gideon on the television, with the caption '_escaped from jail_' written below his mugshot.

Nobody bothered to correct Bill on how he called Gideon a chick, because nobody really cared(or saw otherwise) at the moment. Gideon had escaped. Would he try anything? What would that mean for them?

It was Mabel who spoke first. "Oh, great," she breathed, clearly more annoyed then shocked or mad. "How did he escape?" She asked Grunkle Stan, who shook his head.

"Someone from the outside broke him out. Blew a giant hole in the side of his cell wall somehow, using a bomb. They didn't figure out who put the bomb there, but the guy wore all black and was tall," Stan told them. "Left a clear path for the world's biggest brat to break free."

"Why was he in jail? What, did he throw his baby bottle at some old guys head or something?" Bill asked, obviously trying not to laugh at the idea of someone so small and young go to jail, not to mention with such an angry face as a mug shot.

"I thought you knew everything," Dipper asked, and Bill held up a finger.

"I don't know everything, but I do know lots of things. For instance, I know what's on your internet history, Pine Tree, and it's oddly specific. And did you know that a hippopotamuses sweat is pink?" Bill informed them, and Soos and Mabel giggled quietly. Dipper and Stan, however, looked annoyed, and there was a slight blush on Dipper's cheeks.

"Well, he's not in jail anymore, so it doesn't matter. What _does_ matter is what's gonna happen while he's out of jail, 'cause I doubt he'll just stay out of our way," Dipper said, his voice slightly resembling a pout. Stan waved his hand and groaned a load 'Eeeh.'

"I wouldn't worry too much about the little creep. If anything happens, we'll deal with it in the heat of the moment like we always do," Grunkle Stan said confidently, and Mabel nodded.

"Right! For now, let's focus on getting Bill back to being Bill," Mabel suggested, leaning against the couch.

Soos, Dipper, and Grunkle Stan all exchanged looks. "How are you dudes gonna do that?" Soos asked.

Dipper sighed. "We tried looking through our books. There was nothing on how to trap a demon in a human body or how to turn a demon human. I was thinking we could try to see what the library has, or to maybe just try to find whoever trapped him in his human body ourselves. Honestly, I don't have any better ideas."

Stan turned to study the demon. Bill was watching the humans talk with half-interest, seemingly not caring about what they were talking about. Then his stomach growled, causing the demon to stare at his belly in confusion. He looked back up at Dipper. "Pine Tree, my stomach made a noise."

Dipper narrowed his eyes at the demon but sighed, heading towards the kitchen. "Come on, Bill, I'll make some lunch," he called, not waiting for the demon to follow him before heading to the kitchen. He opened one of the cupboards and grabbed out a package of KD. He turned to head to the stove when he found himself face-to-face with Bill, who was smirking as he stood, his height giving him a more intimidating look as he slightly loomed over Dipper.

"Ah!" Dipper cried, shocked, before collecting himself and getting mad. "Bill, don't _do_ that!"

Bill moved back, returning Dipper's space, and laughed. "Oh, that was priceless!" He laughed. Dipper groaned and rolled his eyes, heading over to the stove and turning one of the burners on before going to grab a pot and adding some water to it. Bill finally finished laughing and watched him.

"So how are you _really_ going to help me?" Bill asked. Dipper paused and looked at him.

"Huh?"

Bill sighed. "Come _on,_ Pine Tree. I could see you holding back in there. Obviously you don't want to say your real plan in front of your old, old, old man. Come on. Enlighten me."

Dipper shifted uncomfortably and put the water-filled pot on the burner, awkwardly adding the noodles to it and tearing open the powder. "... I was just thinking, it wasn't really a plan, but... Well, what if it was whoever got Gideon out of jail who did this? I mean, it just seems too be too big a coincidence. Right?" He asked, hoping it didn't sound too far fetched. Bill thought for a second before shrugging. Dipper waited for him to escalate on his shrug, but the demon just continued to watching him.

Sighing, Dipper finished preparing the KD and waited for it to finish cooking, sitting down at the dining table. Bill gazed around the kitchen, walking around and looking at the napkins and in the fridge and such.

"What are you looking for?" Dipper asked, glaring cautiously at the demon who was currently rummaging through the utensil drawer, frowning before looking through the plate cupboard, staring at the patterns on them before sloppily putting them back.

"Your old ass uncle moved the forks and knives. I want to stab myself, and those are my favourite stabbing utensils," Bill explained, opening up the cupboards under the sink and frowning before closing them again.

Dipper stared at Bill in a mixture of shock and confusion. "Why do you want to stab yourself?!" He exclaimed almost hysterically, remembering Bill asking for something sharp before and causing Bill to smirk and pull up a chair next to Dipper, abandoning his search.

"Well," Bill started, "I don't feel pain in my normal form, and I quite like it. I don't feel anything in that form, really, if you don't count this week."

Dipper considered Bill for a moment. "Why would you like pain, though? It's..."

"Painful?" Bill provided, and Dipper shook his head.

"Well, ya, but I was going more along the lines of 'it's a nuisance,'" Dipper completed, waiting for Bills reaction. When all Bill did was shrug, Dipper got up and stirred the KD, adding milk.

"Everything about being human is a nuisance," Dipper heard Bill mumble as the demon pressed his face into the table out of boredom.

"How so?" Dipper asked, still stirring, and Bill brought his head back up and twisted in his chair to view Dipper better.

"Pine Tree, your stupid meat sacks need _constant_ care. Like, seriously, it's crazy. First of you have to constantly eat and constantly drink and these bodies tire so quickly that it's almost impossible. Sometimes your cold, sometimes your warm, sometimes the wind gets annoying, sometimes it's refreshing, it makes no sense. Then I have to deal with random boners out of nowhere, and-"

"Woah, woah, woah! Okay, Bill, you can stop there," Dipper exclaimed, his outburst once again causing Bill to smirk.

Mabel hopped into the room with a "hey guys!" and seated herself two chairs away from Bill. She turned to stare at Dipper. "So, Dippin-Dots, the food ready yet?" She asked cheerfully, watching as Dipper poured the noodles into a strainer in the sink, draining the liquid from the food.

"Ya, just straining it, hold on."

Mabel smiled at that, then turned to face Bill. "Hey Bill. Can I ask you a question?" She asked innocently. Bill stared back at her, his eyes narrowed cautiously.

"Depends. How personal is the question?" He asked, and Mabel thought for a moment before shrugging.

"Depends on how personal you find the question," she said, raising her arms up in a what-can-you-do kind of manner.

Bill shrugged, looking nonchalant. "Fine. Shoot, Shooting Star."

Mabel smiled. "'Kay. Well, when you possessed Dipper, you passed out 'cause you didn't sleep. If you had a human body before, how come you didn't know that you need sleep to function?"

Dipper, also curious for the answer, stopped shaking out the strainer and waited for Bill's answer. Bill shrugged. "Honestly? I forgot how important sleep was. I mean, I knew you needed to sleep, but I didn't realize how badly you needed it, especially since Pine Tree was already almost at the brink of collapsing when I possessed him. Besides, I was busy, I didn't have time to take a nap."

Mabel narrowed her eyes at Bill. "Really?" She asked.

Bill just shrugged again.

"Okay, do you even know what shrugging means?" Dipper asked.

Bill shrugged. Mabel and Dipper sighed, Dipper starting putting the KD in bowls.

"Okay, then is what you said true?" Mabel asked, and then added "no shrugging."

Bill frowned for a second but nodded. "Ya. I may be for the most part all knowing, but I don't exactly care enough about human biology to bother knowing about it. I mean, what's more to know then they die easily and are fun to make fun of?"

Mabel and Dipper did not comment.

-/o\\-

Afterwards, they went back to looking through their books, but still came out empty handed. The twins convinced Stan to drive them to the the library, and so Soos took over running the Shack. Stan only dropped them all off rather than going in with them, claiming that a) there was no way he was stepping foot in a library and b) he didn't trust Soos running the shack for too long, even though the twins both knew that Stan had more faith in him then he was letting on.

"Reading is super boring," Bill felt the need to point out yet again, flipping a page. Mabel started at him curiously before lifting the cover of the book Bill was reading up to face her. Her jaw dropped a bit. "Bill, why are you reading a book called '_28 Ways to Kill Someone With a Spoon'_?"

Bill smirked. "Because I wanted to know if this book included my favourite way to kill someone with a spoon. Sadly, it doesn't. I already know most of these, anyways, so I'm bored."

Mabel dragged her hands down her face. "Bill, we're here to help you get back in your old form. Not learn new ways to kill people." Bill sighed and closed the book.

"It's not like any of that was really new anyways. I knew this one guy who had a habit of bending spoons with his mind, and I picked up a thing or two. Where did Pine Tree go?" He asked, looking around and realizing that his favourite twin had disappeared from view. Mabel shrugged. Bill frowned but said nothing as Mabel slid a book about spells over to Bill that she hadn't looked through yet.

Bill picked it up and started looking, leaning his chin on the table along with the book.

About half an hour later was when Dipper ran back to them, holding up a book called '_How to Tell if Your Demon is Trying to Kill You.'_

"Found something!" He exclaimed, holding up a page in the book that had an illustration of a triangle with what seemed to be a bleeding eye in the centre. Or was it crying? It was hard to tell without colour.

Dipper pulled up a chair and sat next to Bill, since that's where there was an open seat, who dropped his own book and slammed it closed on the table with a happy "finally!"

Mabel rolled her eyes. "So what'd you find, bro-bro?" She asked, and Dipper pointed to a passage in the book beside the triangle.

"Here," he started, glancing over to Bill to make sure the demon was paying attention, which he thankfully was. "It says a lot of stuff here. This book is actually pretty specific. I didn't even know most of these were real, but if Bill's in here, who knows. So there's two pages about Bill in here, and it kind of just says a lot of things that make me question why on earth we are actually helping you. But then it says right here,

'_Beware the beast with one eye,_

_For weakness is in the rifts of the world._

_Should the demon lose its form,_

_The next part is a lie.'"_

Dipper read aloud, and he searched the demon's face for any clue.

Bill stared at the page in confusion, grabbing the book from Dipper and looking over the works.

"What does that mean? World and form aren't even rhymes. Whoever wrote this is a schmuck," Bill pouted, holding the book upside down now.

Dipper hummed thoughtfully.

_"'The next part is a lie_'? Well what's the next part?" Mabel asked, reaching for the book by leaning over Dipper, but Bill moved it away from her and continued looking.

"Hey, paws off, Shooting Star, it's my turn," he said, putting the book back flat on the table and looking at the next page, which was also about him.

"Ya, there's only two pages on you, and the next page is kind of just warnings about you," Dipper explained as Bill put an offended expression.

"Okay, first off, I've only got two pages? Wow. I deserve way more. Like, at least four. Depending on how small this person can write. And second off, that is just so not true!" He squeaked indignantly, pointing at a scribble of words on the side of the second page.

Mabel grabbed it from his side of the table and brought it to where Dipper and her could see, causing the boy to let out an 'oof' noise at the pressure. The two of the looked at the passage Bill was pointing at, their mouths slowing dropping open.

"Bill!" Mabel cried out, horrified.

"Ya! I know! Everybody knows that I use rabbits and virgins! Goats are way too cliche for me! Man, this book is just _so _not accurate," Bill huffed, crossing his arms.

Dipper scooted his chair a little closer to his sister. Bill noticed.

"Oh come on, I said it wasn't true! That's way too messy, anyways. Everybody knows that I'm all about class. I'm a classy guy! I, personally, would not commit this act, and especially not in a dessert. Desserts are for sacrifices, which I never do myself, I get people to do for me, and I haven't had anybody to do that for me in at _least_ 168 years, so you guys have nothing to fear! Relating this, anyways. You should still fear me. Hey, maybe that's what it meant by 'The next part is a lie.' _Oh,_ I bet you that's what it meant!"

The twins stared at him, Dipper with his eyes narrowed and Mabel still trying to calm herself down, and Bill sighed. "If you don't think so, then what's the '_The next part is a lie'_ thing mean, Pine Tree?" He asked, a slight challenge in his tone.

Dipper let out an 'uh' noise before clearing his throat. "Well, that's the thing, because I have no clue. But that seems too specific to be fake. Do you have any ideas?" He asked, looking between the yellow-haired demon and his twin. Bill slammed his head into the table in what Dipper interpreted as a 'no,' and Mabel hummed.

"Maybe it means that the answer lies with someone who lies?" Mabel guessed. "Or like, maybe the next thing that we find out and think is the answer isn't the answer at all. I don't know, did you use your black light?"

"Ya," the male Pines sighed, "nothing."

They all sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking, before Dipper goes back to the books and starts searching through new ones. Bill looks through the rest of the book Dipper left, and Mabel picked up the book she was previously reading.

Mabel eventually found a whole chapter in her book about demons trapped in other forms, such as genies being confined to lamps or bottles or ghosts being stuck in items or stuck in a body they were possessing. Halfway through she found a page about demons being stuck in human bodies, and after reading it through as carefully as possible, let out a loud "Ah-ha!" Before slamming down the book and pointing to the page. "Found it! How to reverse demon-human body confinement. Ha!"

She continued to look over the page, and Bill put his book down, skidding over to the chair Dipper was previously in in order to see what Mabel was looking at better.

"What's it say?" Bill asked, trying to grab it from her, and Mabel pushed his hands away.

"I don't know, I'm still reading." She read through the page, her eyes starting to go wide. "Oh wow, that sounds... Wow."

Dipper ran up to them then, a book tucked under his arms. "Hey, you find something? I heard you shout. You shouldn't yell in a-"

"'_There has been a scarily large amount of possessions recorded throughout history, and multiple still being recorded today,'_" Mabel started to read aloud, silencing her brother.

"'_In those possessions, it has been made clear that most demons do not have full control of their host, resulting in them being forced to leave the host or them getting stuck in them._

_There have also been a few, albeit rare, cases where demons have been forced into a human body that have been recorded. In this chapter, we talk about..._'" Mabel trailed off, reading ahead. "Bla bla bla, _'Pages 166-169 re cap a recorded case in history where a demon was forced into a human body as punishment for its crimes committed as a monster... We follow the issues and hazards as well as benefits of trapping a demon in a human form._'"

Mabel looked up at her brother and the demon, who were both in seats now, though not their original spots. Dipper was in Bill's previous spot due to the demon having moved into his to try and see what Mabel was reading. She smiled gleefully. "You got anything better than that, bro-bro?" She challenged, noticing the book Dipper was holding. Her brother looked down at his book before sliding it across the table away from him. Mabel smirked. "Thought so. Now, let's see what we have here! Bill, move over, I wanna sit in the middle."

Bill narrowed his eyes before slowing getting out of the chair, swapping with the Pines girl, mumbling something along the lines of, "whatever makes this happen faster."

Mabel spread the book out on the table so the boys on either side of her could see what she was reading before continuing.

"'_There have not been more than two recorded cases in which a demon has been trapped in a human form. Once, this incident occurred when an unnamed man summoned a demon that he believed was plotting to kill all of his children as sacrifices. The man, in an attempt to trap the demon, killed a human and laid out the body, starting a type of summoning circle on the stomach of the deceased. The circle was tainted with holy water and other things believed to harm and keep out spirits and demons. When the demon arrived at the circle, it was trapped inside of the body, but the magic holding the demon was not strong enough to contain it. The demon's powers were transferred into the body, and not only was the man and his children killed, it is said that it killed every human being in three villages, killing a royal, before his mortal body collapsed. The history textbooks would later refer to this incident as not a demon attack, but as a successful assassination attempt on this royal that resulted in the village holding the royal to all be killed. The textbooks will say that the other two villages were slaughtered by raiders or slave traders. This story was recorded by a young slave boy, who later claimed while re-telling this story that a man with his stomach carved into in the shape of a circle approached him after killing his master and all those around him and told him what had happened to him and why he killed everybody, as well as that he was a demon. The demon was said to have instructed the boy to pass down his tale as a warning for other humans. The story was told and passed down by the ages,_'" Mabel finished, starting at the book in shock. She had paused multiple times in her reading to gage the boys' reactions and to collect herself. "Holy moly."

"Is there any more?" Dipper asked, but even he looked a little appalled.

"Y-ya, but it's of the second story. It looks shorter though. Oh wait, that's just the introduction. Well, it still looks shorter," Mabel explained, clearing her throat and starting to read again.

"'_The second known scenario involving a demon being forced and trapped inside of a human form was much more complex and devastating. This story is not for the faint of heart, and it is not confirmed who created or passed down this story,_'" she read, slowly reading the next part of the story in her head before her jaw dropped in shock. "Holy smokes," she choked out.

"What?" Dipper asked, trying to see the page.

"I-I... Ya, there's no way I'm reading... THIS out loud! Jesus!" She cried, dropping the book onto the table. "That-that's horrible!"

Dipper quickly grabbed the book from the table and started to read the scripture. Soon his face was also distorted as he read the page in shock. He stopped reading and stared at Bill. "This is horrible!" The Pines boy exclaimed, looking back at the book. "Bill-have... Oh God please say you haven't done anything as horrible as _this_." The boy said as he finished reading and passed the book to the demon.

Bill picked up the book and started to read what everyone was getting so worked up about, his face stoic. That is, of course, until he let out a laugh. The twins started at him in shock. "That-this isn't funny, Bill!" Mabel shouted, earning a shush from a random person behind one of the book cases.

Bill laughed again, taking another moment to finish reading and put the book back on the table, resuming leaning into his chair. "Oh, come on, it's a little funny. That was really gruesome! I can see why those villagers trapped her in that body. Boy, that was a dumb move! Haha!"

The demon changed poses and leaning on the table now. "That demon wasn't as powerful as me, though. I could've done much worse. Not like I would, of course. Too messy, as I've said" Bill assured when the twins gaped at him. Bill continued.

"But that helps, actually. Because if that demon was able to get out of her human bonds, then so can I. Of course, her way involved a lot of human blood. And some cat blood. And some other bloody things. Actually, I don't even know what this animal is. But I can make it work, I think."

"Bill, n-no! No, Bill, absolutely not. No people are going to die just so that you can become a demon again," Dipper cried out, prying the book away from him.

Bill growled, biting his tongue hard, fighting off a comeback that could potentially give away his future plans. _People are going to die when I become a demon again anyways, Pine Tree. A few more won't make a difference_, the demon thought bitterly.

Instead, he let out a low groan, sinking in his chair. "Well, what do YOU suggest, Pine Tree? Because I'm getting back in my body one way or another, and trust me, if I'm not going to get it one way, I'm going to get it another," he snapped, his voice sounding dangerous yet the threat not holding its normal menace when he was sunk down in his chair. Noting this, he repositioned himself.

Mabel and Dipper side-glanced each other. "I think it's time to go home," Mabel suggested.

-/o\\-

"You kids find anything?" Stan asked his Grandchildren as he picked them and Bill up from the library.

"Ya, but nothing especially helpful," Dipper admitted. Stan hummed.

"Well, I hope you kids find something soon. The sooner we get Bill out of here, the better."

Bill laughed from his spot in the car. "Ya, right back at you, Big Fish. You know, Sixer was way more fun to be around."

Stan visibly tensed, gripping the steering wheel hard. "_Thin ice, Bill. Thin ice._"

The twins glanced at each other, but said nothing.


	4. A Stupid Place to be Stuck

**YOOOOOOOOO. I'm sooooooooooooooooooooo sorry this too so long. I am, what the kids might call, *tips sunglasses* a mess. So, since canon slapped me harder than the weight of the finale, I'm going to have to change the plot a bit. Sorry. But it'll still be good! Promise lol. So, as an official statement, AND THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT PLEASE READ THIS::::::::**

**THIS STORY IS BEFORE STANDFORD COMES BACK YO. SORRY IF THAT IS A SPOILER. ACTUALLY JUST SKIP THIS NOTE IF IT'S A SPOILER. SO IT'S BEFORE STANDFORD COMES BACK, AND IT IS BEFORE BILL TAKES OVER ANYTHING OR ANY WEIRDMAGEDDON, BUT I DO STRESS BEFORE FOR ALL OF THIS. SO IF I SAY SOMETHING LIKE "THE WORST THING HE DID WAS POSSES DIP DOP" I MEAN "THE WORST THING HE HAS DONE IN THE EVENTS OF THIS FIC AND SO FAR IS POSSES DIP DOP" **

**CAPICHE**

**CAPICHE**

**PLEASE ENJOY LOL **

**Also chapter 1 was so long it could have been 2 chapters lol I noticed that and its p great **

Bill was angry. He was always angry, but tonight, he was _angry._

They were in the twins' room, sleeping, while Bill was handcuffed to a risen floor board near his comforter as the twins were trying to sleep. Bill was not sleeping.

Honestly, Dipper wasn't sleeping either. The idea of sleeping so close to a demon frightened him, even if the demon was basically powerless and on the floor. But when his anxiety got the best of him, he sat up in his bed to peer over at their guest. He saw Bill's eyes just as open and awake as his, though they were staring at the roof and he was flat on his back. He looked to be shaking.

"Bill?" Dipper asked tentatively, and Bill's eyes closed shut furiously. After a long moment where Dipper was about to say something, Bill sat up. He twisted a bit while going about it as to not pull on the handcuff on his right hand. In the dark, Dipper couldn't see the cuts into his wrists caused by pulling on the handcuff. Dipper stared at the handcuff, wondering how it could be comfortable to sleep with them on, and knowing that it wouldn't be. Dipper noticed Bill was staring at them as well.

"Bill?" Dipper tried again, and his eyes pulled off of the restraint on his wrist and moved up to the boy on the bed, watching him curiously with big, tired eyes.

Neither of them said anything, and Dipper wasn't willing to break the silence this time. They sat there for a while before Dipper gave up and lied back down on his bed. Bill did not move.

There was a long period of silence, and had it not been for the fact that Dipper didn't hear Bill lie back down, he would have thought the demon fell asleep.

"I can't get into the mindscape," Bill finally said into the abyss of darkness. His eyes were past Dipper now, and were gazing at the glass stained window shaped and painted to look like him. 'Him' being the triangle him, not the form he was… _stuck _in.

Stuck.

How _absurd. _

Dipper leaned back up and scooted to the end of the bed drudgingly, still very tired. "What?" he asked, confused.

Bill glared at him, his gaze shifting from the mural to the boy, and clenched his fists, digging the nails into his skin. He said nothing further, and Dipper sighed, rubbing his eyes. He was getting tired of Bill being unresponsive. Well, he was tired either way.

"Bill, what are you talking about?" Dipper tried again, not being as cautious before, and letting the exhaustion show through his tone.

Bill practically snarled, "I can't get into the mindscape. Humans are…" He took a breath, and his voice returned stronger, "_supposed _to sleep and go to the dreamscape. I'm supposed to go there, too, then, since I'm in a human body. But I _can't._"

Dipper blinked at him. "Why not?" He asked, too tired for this. "And keep your voice down; Mabel is trying to sleep."

Bill scoffed. "I don't qualify as a human or a demon right now. There's no mindscape for me to go too." He sounded mad, and Dipper didn't know what to say.

There was quiet for a moment before Bill started to laugh. "I'm not a demon! I'm not a human! I'm… _Wrong._ I need my body back. I can't stay like this, I can't. Nu-uh. Nope. Not-"

"Bill, we're trying to get you your body back. I'm sorry you lost your body, but-"

"NO! No 'but's, Pine Tree! I need my body back! I have people counting on me; I have plans I need to complete. I need to get back to the mindscape and I need to do it _soon._ I'm not going to sit here and accept this," Bill ranted, shaking his head.

"Bill, keep your voice down!" Dipper whispered anxiously, shooting a glance at his twin, who moaned in her sleep. Bill tugged at his handcuff again, then winced at the pain from the cuts. He didn't care. He didn't care if Shooting Star woke up, he didn't care if Stan woke up, he didn't care if his wrist hurt, and he didn't care if he had to break his _stupid _wrist to get out of there. He wanted to get out of the disgraceful presence of these _stupid _humans, out of this _stupid _meat sack, away from this _stupid _dimension.

This was not a place for a demon, and Bill was the worst of them all.

Stuck.

Bill flopped down onto his mattress again, tired and angry. So, so angry. He tugged at the handcuff again, this time embracing the pain that shot up his wrist. He felt some blood trickle down his arm. He was glad Stan had made the cuff so tight, and he was glad it was right on the bone. He was glad there was a piece of metal that jabbed out of it that cut him in the first place, and he was glad he was bleeding, and he was glad he was bruising. Pain was amazing, and it was a distraction.

Dipper watched Bill tug on his restraint, knowing that if he really, really tried, he could break it. He didn't though. He just pulled on it. _Because even if he breaks free, where would he go? _Dipper thought to himself. The woods were an option; due to the many, many horrific monsters in there, he'd probably die in his human form. Town? He'd kill someone, probably. Maybe get hit by a car himself. Maybe make someone call security for him.

Bottom line- Bill was stuck. If he couldn't get into the mindscape, or the dreamscape, and he couldn't survive in the human world (he doesn't even know how taxes work), then he was struck with the Pines'.

Stuck.

Bill decided he did not like nor appreciate that word.

Dipper had been quiet for a while, watching Bill with now-awake eyes, eyebrows pinched at the rim as he watched the demon struggle with his first existential crisis.

"What was your dimension like?" Dipper asked quietly.

Bill didn't show any signs that he had heard Dipper, staying as still as he was before any words were shared. The only recognition he showed was him whispering the word, "flat."

And then the night was silent.

-/0\\-

The next morning, Bill looked like he had not slept at all. So did Dipper. The rest of the Pines' noticed.

"Woah, bag check for Dipper _and _Bill!" Stan exclaimed in the morning, after uncuffing Bill from the floor and waking him and the twins up.

They had all fallen asleep, eventually, but Bill looked like he got two minutes, and Dipper five. Both were up for different reasons that were very much the same.

Dipper wanted to know more about what Bill had said during the night. The demon had displayed emotion- anger, sure, that was always there, but something else. Mabel was right; he looked homesick.

It was weird; was the mindscape his home? Was his dimension his home? How did that all work? Why was it so important for him to get back? Was he really just homesick?

He was suddenly more curious about Bill then ever; who even was he? What did he mean by 'people count on him'? Were there more demons out there? What did they need Bill for? And what did he mean by 'plans'?

What did he mean by 'flat'?

And were they even going to address his scars?

In other words, Bill was become more confusing than when he knew literally nothing about the guy.

One thing Dipper absolutely _hated _was uncertainty- right now, he wasn't certain about anything.

Bill, well, you could guess why he didn't sleep. Or you could tell it like a joke. Say, why did the demon go to sleep? To get to the mindscape! Now, applying it to the situation, why did the demon _not _go to sleep? Because there was nothing on the other side!

Either way, Bill didn't get much sleep.

He _really _needed to get back. Weirdmageddon wouldn't be possible without him, and he'd be damned (he already is) if it doesn't happen at all. Pyronica and 8-Ball, his two main subjects and, heh, _friends,_ wouldn't be able to hold down the fort. They were only able to contact each other through dreams in the mindscape, which Bill would put them under, as well as his other minions. Bill connected them. Bill brought them together. Bill made the plans. Bill held down the fort. Bill ruled over them. Bill was the centre of it all.

And yet, due to unforeseen circumstances, he was _trapped_. And he was _so mad. _

Bill got mad very easily. This was fairly obvious. But he had a legitimate reason (this time), and he was ready to scream it to this _stupid _realm, this _stupid _planet, this _stupid hick town, _that Bill Cipher was _fucking pissed and ready to burn this dimension to the ground with his own hands, painfully, and slowly, casting everyone in it in eternal agony and fear. _

But he wasn't going to do that. Not yet. Not until he got his powers, not until the portal was working, not until he had an audience. Then he'd see who was laughing.

It was thoughts like these that had kept Bill up all night.

-/0\\-

After eating breakfast, they opened the Shack. Mabel trained Bill on how to run the Mystery Shack, putting him on the cash register, which involved the least talking with strangers. Wendy was explained the whole he's-a-demon scenario, being warned to watch out for him and make sure he was behaving while she re-stocked the Shack and advertised items to customers in his place. Stan ran the tours as Mr. Mystery, and the twins continued research on how to get Bill back into his triangular form and back into the mindscape.

Wendy, not surprisingly, had some complaints.

"He called a child a meat-sack," She complained to Dipper during her break, while Mabel watched the demon in question. "The kid asked how much something was. He said, and I quote, 'too much for what it is worth, yet still worth more than your human life,' and then the kid started to cry and he told her to, _and I quote, _'stop leaking and get her meat-sack away from him.'" She ranted, taking a long sip of her _Pitt Cola._

"The guy's a nutjob! He better have a really good tragic backstory, because nothing excuses that level of jack-assery. Ugh, poor Mabel is stuck dealing with him now. How can you guys stand it?" She asked.

Dipper shrugged. "We don't have a choice. We're the only chance he seems to have of getting back to the mindscape. I mean, he'd probably find a way on his own, but it would take longer, since we can't even find one way ourselves. He seems pretty hell-bent on getting back there."

Wendy shook her head. "Dude, something is up with that guy. Not only is he a demon, but he's willing to put up with staying here with you guys just to get back to where he came from. If you ask me, he wants to get back to the mindscape a little _too_ much, don't you think? I mean, he clearly hates being here, but he seemed to be having a jolly good time here when he was possessing you. You get what I'm saying?"

Dipper frowned. He checked the time to make sure Wendy didn't have to go soon, but she still had a few more minutes. He sighed. "Kind of. It is a little odd, I guess, but I don't really know much about the mindscape. I've been there once, and only in _my_ mindscape. I'm pretty sure the dreamscape is a whole other thing, but Bill can access both willingly, for any human. Or, at least I think. It must be super different for him. Must be pretty great, too, if he wants to get back so bad."

"Ya, but dude, there might be more too it. It probably is super different for him then it was for you, mindscape or dreamscape, but there has to be something going on there for him to want to be back there so badly. I mean, the guy's a demon. He's possessed you, harmed you, and attacked Stan. Who knows what else he's done? Who knows what else he is going to do?" Wendy reasoned. She looked calm and relaxed as she leaned back in the chair, feet on the table and gaze nonchalant, but Dipper heard her voice raise an octave in worry.

He leaned back in his chair as well. She was probably right. He probably did have something horrible planned, for them or for somebody else. _"A darkness approaches,"_ Bill had told him in the dreamscape. Dipper knew Bill was a bad guy. He remember the fear he felt when he was forced out of his own body by him, and the screams he heard when he left Soos and Mabel (and her literal dream boyz (with a z)) alone with him.

And yet, he couldn't help but think that nobody is all bad. Including Bill.

"I know," he admitted, lowering his head a bit. "We'll be careful, Wendy. I promise. And if worse comes to worse… We'll do what we have to do," He promised, looking here in the eyes with determination.

Wendy regarded him, smiling almost sadly. "I know you will," she told him. "Just make sure he knows that too, okay bud? I'm gonna run to the bathroom, then my breaks over. Talk later?"

She got out of her chair, grabbing her drink with one hand and ruffling his hat with the other before shoving it in her pocket and walking away.

**Okay, so there's that! Wow, boy howdy am I sorry this took so long. But, y'know, mental health first and all that jazz. Bill… my heart. Oh, canon, how you condemn me so. Anyways, please leave a review, fav or follow! Sorry this took so long again, I'll try to be a bit more punctual in the future (but I'm a useless piece of garbage so don't have too high of hopes or too low of hopes!? What am I saying?) **


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